When is the ‘right time’ to see a Physio?

Whether you’re active or not, the odd sprain or injury is inevitable. Many can be eased with painkillers and a few nights sleep but occasionally they develop into something more severe, restricting your movement or causing persistent pain. Seeing a physio at the right time can stop the former becoming the latter.

But how do you know the right time to book an appointment?

The trick is to think of muscular, ligament or joint problems no differently from other health problems. If you have a headache today, a few painkillers, water and rest will usually ease it. But if you still have that headache next week, you’ll be rightfully concerned.

Back pain, for example, is no different. Any pain lasting longer than a week should be seen to by a professional, otherwise it risks becoming chronic. The wait and see approach will often cost you in the long run.

Take the Achilles tendon. This is a part of the body where problems often develop slowly, starting with slight discomfort or stiffness that you can easily shrug off for months. Then, one morning, you try to get out of bed and can’t walk.

Because you ignored it for months it then takes months of rehabilitation to recover.

If you had seen us within the first few weeks, you’d normally be back to normal within weeks rather than months. You would also know how to avoid the problem developing in the future with simple, take home preventative exercises. This quick, in and out treatment is the typical patient experience here.

The age where small niggles can turn into longer term injuries starts at around 35. After this age little niggles tend to remain and become significant issues if they aren’t addressed. It’s also around this time when I can say to them, “We’ll help your injury but if you don’t change your lifestyle, it will come back.”

Seeing a physiotherapist won’t just cure of your aches and pains, their advice can protect you from them in the future. Unfortunately, the problem often needs to be debilitating before people take their physical health seriously. Don’t wait until then. Call us today on 0207 093 3499, or email enquires@physiolondon.co.uk if you have any concerns.

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Great service. Quick and friendly. Identified my issue quickly and after a couple of sessions provided the exercises I needed to get me back to full strength without the need for any further physio. Very much recommended.

I went for a 30 minute sports massage with Sophie Wicks today. I've had a problem with tight knots in my calves and I thought a massage pre-race would be a good idea. She applied good hard pressure on those knots unlike many masseurs and also gave me some post-run tips for loosening those muscles. Unlike many practitioners, she did not oversell and say that I needed a massage once a month or every week as I don't get many running related injuries. I will definitely be back.

These folk have been looking after me very well since 2007 through various sports injuries. They offer a comprehensive team of truly excellent specialists.Yet they are still small enough to be personal have a clear sense of who each client/patient is. The level of communication is first rate, as is attention to detail. Very convenient to get to from Canary Wharf.

I saw Milly Mirkovic for a sports related shoulder injury. I received excellent, expert professional care. Milly performed really detailed assessments at each appointment and set me tailored exercise programmes that were achievable. This got me back to normal fitness (and some!) in a reasonable timeframe. A couple of months along now and no recurrence of the problem. Many thanks.

I worked with Kasia Z. to deal with a torn elbow tendon, and I cannot recommend her enough. She was great to work with: patient, understanding and flexible. She gave me exercises to do at home to help speed the recovery process and was very responsive in tailoring them to my feedback as to what worked and what i was finding hard to incorporate into my daily routine. She not only helped me with the elbow, but gave me some great insights into my body, as well as recommending types of exercises I should focus on to prevent repeat injuries.

Following persistent pain in my knee, I saw my GP who recommended physiotherapy sessions.
I contacted Physiotherapy London (Canary Wharf) and got an appointment quickly and at a convenient time.
I saw a lower limb specialist who was very knowledgeable and friendly.
He took time to assess the problem, discussed with me various way of improving the condition and showed me in detail exercises I could do at home.
Very positive experience from the reception lady to the specialist.
Highly recommended.

My physiotherapist Candice is fab. I can't say enough great things about her and her professionalism. After suffering a trapped nerve and extremely painful scapula for nearly 8 weeks all the NHS would offer me was strong drugs, I was at my wit's end. I saw Candice, she gave me a comprehensive medical diagnosis as to what was causing the problem and has offered to refer me back into the NHS should a set schedule of regular treatments not rectify the problem.
I was dubious about going privately for treatment as money is tight, but this organisation seems to want to help. There is not a schedule of endless appointments and the prices are reasonable. The condition is improving slowly and I feel better in myself knowing what caused it and that I am in safe hands going forward.
Thank you Candice.